ELECTRICAL PANEL UPGRADES, INSTALLATION OR REPLACEMENT

WHAT DOES AN ELECTRICAL PANEL DO?

A well working electrical panel is the brain of the electrical system. As long as it is functioning well, the system will work. When it starts to fail, you will notice problems and it is best to address the situation as soon as possible. The breaker on the panel protects your home or business by tripping and shutting down power to the circuit when it becomes overloaded. When a panel starts to fail, it may not protect your home and family from fault conditions that can cause electrocution and fire hazards.

REASONS TO UPGRADE OR REPLACE YOUR ELECTRICAL PANEL

There will be signs that your breaker needs upgraded or replaced. They include:

You need more room in your existing panel to add circuits

Your panel is older than the manufacturer's recommended lifespan This is 20 years for most panels

Breakers are hot to touch and/or tripping

Breakers are not tripping under a fault condition

Breakers and/or wires look discoloured or burnt

Overheating, corrosion, or discolouring of bus bars this is the central part of your panel where the breakers plug in

Smoke is coming out of your panel or it smells like something is burning

You notice any arcing or sparking

You hear a sizzling sound from the panel

You have no power to parts or all of your building

Lights are flickering throughout your home or business

Appliances & electronics are not lasting as long as they should

You have an unsafe Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) panel which should be replaced immediately more information on these panels can be found in the section below

You have a panel that is out-dated and no longer manufactured FPE, Zinsco, Nova, Sylvania, Commander, Bull Dog, ITE, CEB, Crouse Hinds

Other panels that may be out-dated but still manufactured today include those made by Cutler Hammer, Siemens, Square D, and GE (General Electric). Check your panel for the manufacturer's recommended lifespan. If you are not sure, please give Gentlemen Electric a call.

FEDERAL PACIFIC ELECTRIC (FPE) PANELS

Tests done since the 1980’s on FPE panels with Stab-Lok circuit breakers have proven that one in four breakers will not trip, causing breaker malfunction and fire potential. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1983 had to close its investigation and did not issue a product recall because of budget issues, and installation of FPE panels continued. To this day, an average of 2800 fires per year are a result of FPE panel malfunction. Please visit www.ismypanelsafe.com for more information.

To find out if your home or building has a Federal Pacific panel, check the breaker box. Their name or logo will be on the front cover and the name Stab-Lok will be in the center of the panel. This is really only applicable to homes built between 1950 and 1990.

Pease contact Gentlemen Electric today if you discover you have one of these panels.